There will be a three per cent tolerance for farmers under declaring their land on the new Basic Payment Scheme forms, a DARD official has told Fermanagh farmers.

David Small, Deputy Secretary at DARD, answering a question from a farmer attending a public meeting organised by the SDA Group in Derrygonnelly last week, about the penalties farmers will face, said farmers will not automatically face penalties but there will be a tolerance.

It was one of the few new developments given at the meeting which followed a similar theme to previous CAP meetings in Lisnaskea and Clogher.

The panel of speakers which included Cormac McKervey, Agricultural Manager with the Ulster Bank, who presented a powerpoint presentation of the main CAP rules and changes, and Herbie Jones from the Countryside Management unit of DARD, were joined by Peter Gallagher, SDA Chairman and John Sheridan also from the group.

Cormac, outlining the new reforms, explained how entitlements already held, ended in December and it was the pot of money that farmers had and the area of land they farm this year which will be used to calculate the new entitlements. Other changes included the Single Farm Payment had changed to Basic Payment Scheme but with a Greening payment making up 30 per cent of the total subsidy now.

He outlined how land let out in conacre arrangements presented major changes this year. Those claiming the payments must be the active farmer who was in full control of the land.

In seven years time, every farmer in Northern Ireland would have the same entitlement value of 329 euros per hectare. The Young Farmers Payment was worth 84 Euros a hectare but could be less if the scheme is oversubscribed. Young farmers who were under 40 in 2015, had a Level II qualification, must also be head of holding and provide evidence such as a solicitor’s letter, a tax return or a letter from a bank. In a 50:50 partnership, the young farmer must be able to make decisions without veto.

During questions, the panel were asked if there was a possibility of the application period being extended beyond May 15 but they said they were not aware of this.

David Small, speaking about land eligibility, said that the land must be subject to grazing or other agricultural activity throughout the year. Grazing 20 ewes on an 80-hectare hill farm might not be sufficient to justify this claim.

All eligible land must be claimed. Any land that is not declared could present problems for nitrate loading.

One farmer commented that there could be a conflict between what one farmer thinks is eligible and what DARD thinks is correct. David Small said remote sensing was not always clear and if farmers know something had changed, they must make this known to DARD.

The DARD officials reminded farmers that all the information they need is online on the DARD website. The question and answer booklet has been revised 12 times, with new questions added after CAP roadshow meetings.

Another farmer asked about whether all claimants could receive 50 per cent of their payments in advance as is the case in other countries. However the reply was that DARD will make full payments where they can and their plan was to increase the percentage of claimants receiving full payment on time in December. This year, all payments should be made by the end of March. They hope to improve on that for the 2015 scheme year.

The SDA are assisting farmers with the Whole Farm Needs Assessment which DARD has on their website to guage possible farmer interest before the proposed Farm Business Improvement Scheme is launched. This will be part of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. Farmers must have this survey returned online by April 3. The SDA group are holding information sessions at Enniskillen Mart today, Belleek Warke Hall(March 27),Derrygonnelly Community Centre(March 30), Lisnaskea Lakeland Tyres(March 31), Irvinestown Bawnacre Centre(April 1) between 7pm and 10pm.